The Beer Nut: Passport to Bay State breweries

Wednesday

Mar 19, 2014 at 12:02 PMMar 19, 2014 at 12:02 PM

By Norman MillerDaily News staff

If you're like me, you spend a lot of time visiting breweries throughout Massachusetts.Now the Massachusetts Brewers Guild and the†state Department of Agricultural Resources have teamed up to create the Massachusetts Craft Brewers Trail and the Massachusetts Craft Brewers Program.The program is designed to promote the more than 60 different beer producers in the state, as well as farms, such as Valley Malt in Hadley, Four Star Farm in Northfield and Clover Hill Farm in Hardwick, that produce ingredients many Massachusetts brewers use in their beers.A "passport" to visit participating breweries are available at participating breweries or online at www.massbrewersguild.com or www.mass.gov/massgrown.How it works is, after getting a passport, when you visit a brewery, each brewery will stamp your passport. The passport includes a map broken into regions. For example, Framingham is listed in the Central Region. If someone gets a stamp from every brewery in a region, they can send their passport to the address provided and they will receive a "Drink Local" T-shirt. If someone gets their passport stamped at all the breweries in all five regions, they will receive a commemorative glass.I've seen these programs in other states and I think it's a great idea. It helps promote local businesses and exposes people to breweries they may never have heard of. The passport could be the first time someone from Boston may have heard of Lefty's Brewing Company in Greenfield or Bog Iron Brewing in Norton. Itís particularly great for getting people to visit smaller breweries.Beer benefits bombing victimsThe Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams) has announced the return of its Boston 26.2 Brew. Each year, this gose style beer (unmalted wheat beer made with salt) is available at bars and restaurants along the Boston Marathon route.All profits of the sales of the beer will be donated to the Greg Hill Foundation which supports survivors of last yearís Marathon bombings and their families.This year, several families affected by the bombings helped brew the beer in Boston. For a list of locations that will be pouring Boston 26.2 Brew, log onto blog.samueladams.com.Other beer newsCisco Brewers from Nantucket recently released its first mixed-12 pack of beers. The 12-pack features Cisco's most popular beers - the Sankaty Light Lager, the Grey Lady (Belgian-style witbier), Whale's Tale Pale Ale and the reformulated Indie I.P.A.Foolproof Brewing Company of Rhode Island has announced that it will be adding its popular La Ferme Urbaine as a year-round beer.Previously, La Ferme Urbaine, a Belgian-style saison, was a special release available in 22-ounce bombers. Now, Foolproof will add four packs of 12-ounce cans."There was such a demand for this beer that we knew we had to make it available year round," said brewery founder Nick Garrision in a press release. "With the introduction of cans, we're able to reach a broader audience with LFU and also sell it at a lower cost to beer lovers in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut."Email Norman Miller at nmiller@wickedlocal.com or call 508-626-3823. Check out the Beer Nut blog at blogs.wickedlocal.com/beernut. Follow him on Twitter at @realbeernut. Also check out "Norman Miller, The Beer Nut" on Facebook.